Friday, January 18, 2008

Thai Corn Fritters with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

Don't judge these by the picture--they are fantastic! "Real" corn fritters have egg, which I replaced with a bit of cornstarch and chickpea flour. They are nice and crisp, and have a hearty flavour and texture. They are made even better with this dipping sauce, which is so good I am going to make more and find things to dip into it.

Thai Corn Fritters

Makes 10

INGREDIENTS

- 2 cups frozen corn, thawed

- red curry paste, to taste

- 1/2 cup chickpea flour

- 2 tbsp cornstarch

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

- 1 tbsp mushroom soy sauce

- 1-2 tbsp water

- oil for frying

METHOD

1. Heat 1/2" of oil in a frying pan over med-hi heat.

2. Put thawed corn in a bowl. Mix in curry paste. Add in flour, cornstarch, garlic, cilantro and soy sauce and mix well. Add in water to make a batter that will coat the corn but not be too runny.

3. Drop large spoonfuls of batter into the oil, making 4-5 inch round fritters. Fry about 2 mins each side. Make sure the oil is hot enough to cook the bottom, but not too hot to burn the fritter.

Sweet Chili Sauce

- 1/4 cup white vinegar

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1 1/2 tsp garlic chili sauce

METHOD

1. Bring vinegar and sugar to bubbling in a small saucepan. Cook for 2 mins, stirring constantly.

2. Remove from heat, add in salt and chili sauce. Cool to room temperature and serve.